Cheese and the Dairy Family

Milk is a white liquid produced by mammals to feed their young. The milk referred to in this article is that of animals, namely cows and less occasionally buffalos. Other mammals like sheep, goats, yaks and horses can also provide milk used in dairy products on a rare basis. Human beings are the only mammals which consume milk after infancy therefore the industrialisation of milk has seen milk and its derivatives been mass produced and mass consumed. The collective name for these foods which are derived from milk is called dairy, hence dairy products. There are many different kinds of dairy products produced today. The more popular dairy products are cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, butter, condensed milk and powdered milk. Cheese is produced by curdling milk, separating it from whey and allowing it to form, generally with bacteria and on some occasions with moulds. There are hundreds of different types of cheese available and the type of cheese produced is defined by the origin of the milk, the diet of the animal, the bacteria, the mould, the processing, and the aging. The composition of cheese makes it high in fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Yoghurt, which has its roots in Eastern European countries like Turkey and Bulgaria, is produced by bacterial fermentation. The ingredients that make yoghurt are whole milk, partially skimmed milk, skim milk or whole milk enriched with cream. It is rich in protein, calcium which is great for bones and teeth and not just in young children and women with osteoporosis, riboflavin, vitamin B6 excellent is  a coenzyme involved in the metabolism of protein and carbohydrates as well as  the production of insulin and red and white blood cells, and lastly vitamin B12.The next dairy product is also a popular dessert in summer, that is ice cream. Ice cream is also known by many names depending on the country and to distinguish styles of presentation. For instance frozen custard is a form of ice cream commonly found in the East Coast of the United States of America while sorbet has its origins in the Middle East. Another popular and household dairy product is butter. Butter is yielded by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is one of the most concentrated dairy products as 20 litres of milk are required to make one kilogram of butter. This familiar household product can be used to bake, cook, fry or make sauces. Other ingredients of butter are butterfat, water and milk proteins. On the other hand, condensed milk is simply milk wherefrom water was extracted and copious amounts of sugar were added to produce a highly sweet and thick dairy product. It is usually packed in such a manner as to last for long periods of time in cans or plastic packages. Milk and its resulting dairy products can be purchased from most supermarkets. However, care must be taken for people who suffer from lactose intolerance and milk allergies or vegans and vegetarians, to offer appropriate alternatives. These alternatives are in “milk” extracted from plants like soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, hemp milk, peanut milk and horchata.